The photo sharing theme will be “spring flowers”.   This is a perfect time of year to get memorable images!

In addition, Adam Baker will will give an overview and tutorial on the Nik plugins.   These are free and incredibly powerful.  They run as plugins in Photoshop or Lightroom and can also run as stand-alone apps.  If you can, get the plugins installed on your laptop and bring it to the meeting so you can follow along.

Before the meeting, we’ll have a photo shoot at the Botanical Gardens of the Cornell Plantations starting at 6:00.  We’ll be at  Comstock Knoll, where the rhododendrons and azaleas are blooming.

These pre-meeting shoots are a great opportunity to share ideas and gear, and learn new techniques. Here’s Mark Malkin the macro master shooting a classic Nikon 200mm macro lens in the Mundy wildflower garden before our May meeting:

New member Ethan Jost tries out a Sigma 150mm macro on a Really Right Stuff tripod/ball head.  He’s using an LCD loupe to check focus with a high degree of precision:

Ethan now has a much better idea how this gear works, and his parents will probably get quite the list when the holidays roll around. 🙂